It will arrive shortly after the launch of its new Toyota Yaris WRC car. The motorsport-spec Yaris packs a 375bhp punch, with 314lb ft of torque, from its turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine, although the road-going car is more likely to have a Ford Fiesta ST-rivalling output of around 200bhp and more than 200lb ft of torque.

It's likely to be powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, which would tie the model in with its World Rally Championship counterpart, as Toyota recently announced revisions to its engine line-up to make it more powerful with a greater focus on driver enjoyment. It's too early for official performance figures but the class average for the 0-62mph dash is between 6.5sec and 7.0sec.

A single image of the car - in design sketch form - reveals all the hallmarks of the segment, with larger alloy wheels, a low ride height, low-profile tyres and bodywork upgrades that include a rear spoiler, as well as a three-door bodystyle.

The supermini and city car segments continue to abandon three-car bodystyles as buyers move to the more practical five-door layout, but it seems that Toyota will continue to buck this trend by offering the Yaris Gazoo as a three-door.

Toyota remains tight-lipped about any details surrounding the Yaris Gazoo but more information is expected to emerge in the opening months of the new year.

Join the debate

up to I saw the paycheck which had said $8845 , I have faith that my friends brother woz like actualy erning money part-time on their apple labtop. . there aunt had bean doing this 4 only 7 months and resently took care of the morgage on there mini mansion and bought themselves a Lancia . view it now....

If Toyota really want a high performance Yaris then they'd pretty much have to dump the current car.
It is far from sporty & fun as you could possibly get - I wouldn't have minded that so much when test-driving if it had sacrificed these for comfort, but it was unrefined and a dreadful bumpy suspension, and not very stable at Motorway speeds either. Add in a sea of nasty hard plastics in 51 shades of grey and you don't have a great starting point for a performance version.

The Fiesta ST works because even the basic car has a well-balanced and talented chassis...something Toyota forgot to develop.

As for the name Gazoo, it originates from the 1960's Flintstones cartoon - although the car in that is more advanced than a Yaris!

I don't care about the name - I want a hot hatch that isn't going to break down and who's dealerships aren't going to be full of unhelpful, rude, jack-the-lads who don't give a damn about customer service. I also want a true hot hatch and not a warm one (sorry Suzuki Swift). So this appears to be a winner on my list, as long as it drives at least 75% as well as a Fiesta ST.

Everyone has a right to an opinion - don't confuse that with insulting your mother :-)

I wonder if all this is planned to coincide with the next gen Yaris? The sketches don't have much in common with the current Yaris, maybe Toyota has just given us a sneak preview of the next one, which must be due soon? I think we'll pretty soon get used to the name if the products are decent, I mean the name "ST" doesn't exactly set the pulse racing does it.